Juan Garcia's Slideshow of WCQT 2008 in Portland, Oregon

Photos taken by Juan Garcia (on the right) at the WCQT 2008 event can be enjoyed via slideshow at:

SLIDESHOW

Top FPUSA determined for 44th World Championship in Senegal

The Portland Petanque Club hosted this year's World Championship Qualification Tournament on July 21st & 22nd at Westmoreland Park, Portland, Oregon.

The winners were:

First Place:

Thuan Nguyen, Los Angeles Petanque Club (LAPC);

Christian Triay (LAPC); and

Pascal Corchia, La Boule du Desert (Palm Desert, CA, but he lives in Dallas, TX)

Second Place:
Alec Stone Sweet, La Boule New Yorkaise (LBNY);

Xavier Thibaud (LBNY); and

Nghia Ngo, National Capitol Club de Petanque (Washington, DC, but he lives in Louisiana)

Third Place:
Joe Cortright, Portland Petanque Club (PPC)
Lavant Woolfe, Walla Walla Petanque Club. Walla Walla, Washington
Desmond Grattan, PPC

Fourth Place:
Peter Mathis, Valley of the Moon Petanque Club (VOMPC)
Juan Garcia, Boca Petanque 2000
Mamary Coulibaly, LBNY

Junior World Championship -RESULTS-

Here are the Results of the Junior World Championship in Suwa, Japan.

1. France
2. Spain
3. Italy and Tahiti

Shooting Competition

1. Thailand Sarayoot Master
2. Spain Lorenzo Mendez
3. France Dylan Rocher Sweden Jessica Johansson

Coupe des Nations 2007

1. Denmark
2. Singapour

Semi Finals Canada - Germany

Quarter Finals United States - Vietnam - Estonia - Czech Republic

This Tuesday, the FPUSA Juniors - Hallie Cohen; Wolfgang Kurz; Brendan Cohen; and Patrick Sammons will be departing for Suwa, Japan to compete in the Junior World Championships (July 13 - 15).

The Juniors leave on a high note by winning top prize (out of 18 triples) in San Rafael in a come-from-behind final! They won against a triplette of (what was once...) the best players in the NorthWest region, if not the country!

This skilled group will be competing against Germany; Australia; Belgium; Caeroon; Canada; Denmark; Spain; Estonia; Finland; France; Japan (of course!); Hungary; India; Italy; Laos; Singapore; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Czech Republic;Thailand; Tunisia; and Vietnam.

The Juniors express their gratitude to FPUSA and its members who have helped to fund this momentous event.

We all eagerly await stories of their victories and adventures.

Good Luck Juniors!

Petanque in Madrid

I just came back from Madrid, Spain visiting Family and the Old Neighborhood and of course sharpening my skills at my favorite Game "Petanque".

At first I was a little disappointed because the Petanque Courts were empty, some older Players that were walking by told me that they stop playing until September since most of them were leaving for the Summer. This is the Picture of the Courts in Ciudad Pegaso 10 minutes away from Barajas Airport where I used to Play.

The solution was to move up to the next Community "Canillejas" a 30 minute minute walk from my In Laws House, now this is a very active Club with 180 Members and a wonderful Clubhouse with 13 Courts with lights and Bathrooms located inside a Park.

The Fun started, they took me in and I made lots of Friends right

away, we would Play in the

afternoon around 5:00PM until 10:00PM every day, that's right! in the Summer it gets dark at 10:15PM

One thing for sure, in these two communities petanque is not what it used to be, you don't see kids playing Petanque any more and right over the fence you could see over 30 of them lined up playing soccer.

Here to the Picture on the right are some of there best players, from right to left Oscar, Pedro and Jose the Taxi Driver, Oscar is the only one that would travel to play in Tournaments. These guys are A1 Pointers and excellent shooters they would make fun of me and say that "here in Spain we hit on the Iron" but a hit is a hit in my book.

I was taking a look at their Bulletin Board about an Open Tournament in two weeks in Zaragoza. http://www.fepetanca.com/abierto2007/ABIERTO2007.htm
The top Prize for First Place is 2000 euros about $2600 and all the way to 16th place 75 Euros but they will have at least over 64 teams.

The Best Petanque Players in Spain are in Barcelona, the South, SE Coast and the Islands, Balearic and Canary Islands.

HELP WANTED FOR OUR JUNIORS TEAM

These four very motivated juniors showed at the just completed NW Regional Doubles in Sacramento that they can be downright intimidating on the courts. With your help they will be placing and shooting with the best that other FIPJP countries have to offer at the Junior World Championships in Suwa, Japan, July 13-15.

It's a long and expensive journey and they'll need thousands of dollars to make this 2007 FPUSA Junior Team a reality. FPUSA members and anyone interested in youth development through sport are encouraged to make a contribution to the team's fund-raising effort.

Please make your check payable to the FPUSA, and send it to treasurer Max Legrand, PO Box 641595, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Mark on it that it's for the Junior Team Fund.

[click on graphic to enlarge]